Bizcochos de Cayambe

The Cayambe bizcochos are elongated, golden cookies that are crunchy on the outside and melt in your mouth. The dough, made with flour, butter or fat, egg yolks, and salt, is cut into strips and baked in a wood-fired oven; the bizcochos are served still warm.

In 2021, Ecuador’s national intellectual property office registered the bizcocho de Cayambe as a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed, a designation that protects traditional recipes. Until 2023, it was the country’s only product with that registration.

A gastronomic inventory of the canton notes more than three hundred years of tradition in making the bizcochos. Travel accounts say the fame grew when the railroad reached the town in the early 20th century and passengers began buying them at stops. Several establishments have been run by the same families for generations.

The traditional way to eat them is with queso de hoja, a white salty cheese wrapped in achira leaf, accompanied by manjar de leche and a cup of coffee.

Cayambe lies on the road between Quito and Otavalo, and many tours stop in the town for a bizcocho breakfast.